$500,000 Stolen from Cooperstown Schools Last Year in Cybercrime

By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZEL
COOPERSTOWN

Last year, around $500,000.00 was stolen from the Cooperstown Central School District in a sophisticated cybercrime scheme, officials say.

“In late September 2024, the New York State Police was notified by the Cooperstown School District regarding a financial cybercrime in which the district suffered a loss of approximately $500,000.00,” New York State Police Troop C Public Information Officer Aga Tinker responded to a recent inquiry by AllOtsego. “State Police investigators have been working diligently on the case. At this time, no arrests have been made. The investigation remains ongoing, and no additional details will be released to protect the integrity of the investigation.”

School Board President Peter Iorizzo shared information about the theft at a March 2025 school board meeting.

“We understand that this news likely raises questions and concerns. Please understand that due to the integrity of the investigation and the confidentiality of our internal security protocols, we cannot describe the specific nature of the fraud,” he said in part, adding that the district immediately contacted authorities upon realizing the fraud.

“We can assure the community that this crime will not impact district operations,” Iorizzo continued. “The spending plan outlined in the 2024-25 voter-approved budget has not been modified because of this incident. Similarly, the loss of funds does not impact the ongoing 2025-26 budget development process. Although the amount of money stolen was significant, it should be noted that it represents only about 2 percent of our annual operating budget.”

The adopted 25-26 budget totaled $23,760,273.00.

In an interview last week, Iorizzo told AllOtsego the district has been working hard to implement internal measures to prevent repeat incidents. While he still could not share specifics on the theft, he said it “was something that was clearly very well thought out and well researched” and it would be “extraordinarily difficult to design an internal control system that would prevent what happened from happening 100 percent of the time.” He said it was not a “ransomware” attack, a kind of cyberattack that usually locks down an organization’s information technology until a ransom is paid.

Superintendent Sarah Spross wrote to AllOtsego that “To safeguard district finances, we have reviewed internal controls and included additional checks and balances around banking and purchasing while also continuing to collaborate with our regional partners around cybersecurity.”

Cybercrime against school districts and municipal governments has been on the rise across the country. According to a 2023 New York State Comptroller report and FBI data, cyberattack complaints in New York State rose 53 percent from 2016 to 2022.

Iorizzo said he would support state or federal action to combat the problem, which has impacted other New York school districts.

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